Gender equality is one of the conditions for the successful development of the country, Olga Politiko, a member of the permanent commission on industry, fuel and energy, transport and communications of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus, said during the interregional forum "Women's leadership in Central and Eastern Europe and the Eurasian region” which was held in Belgrade, Serbia, BelTA reports.

During the panel discussion Olga Politiko talked about Belarus’ track record in this area. The MP, in particular, focused on the representation of women in the Belarusian Parliament, gender neutrality of national legislation, the achievements of the country to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates, and support of families with children."In all these areas our country occupies leading positions. For example, the forum highlighted the need for the EU governments to provide mandatory paid maternity leave of at least 18 weeks. In Belarus the paid leave to care for a child is up to 3 years,” said the MP.